Computer safety software?

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

While following a link from another thread, I came upon an ad for "Safer Web" software. It's supposed to protect from a lot of computer intrusions by creating a VPN (Virtual Private Network.) And I guess that VPN creates the shadow IPs we see talked about on the TV shows when the bad guy can't be traced very far so one can appear to be in the US one minute, Russia or somewhere else the next? This one seems to be a subscription deal, sorta like a lot of the anti-virus/malware programs, except with a monthly charge instead of annual. However, as with the various "anti" programs, a quick search reveals free VPN software offerings, too.

So how exactly do these things work, do they work as advertised, and (if one pays for them) are they worth the money to use?

Rick C

 

[Pat-inCO]

Well Rick . . . . please excuse the personal prejudice, but things like this
are actually to correct the errors in winderz. Billie gates has been selling
a load of "stuff" since before Win98. As such he has "created jobs" to
patch over the problems in winderz.

I switched to Linux eight years ago. I had worked with several people
(we were all programmers) that specialized in the Personal Computer
and they were all enthusiastic about Linux. I bit the bullet and did the
conversion (I bought a separate hard drive, just in case). Linux
understands winderz data formats but winderz does . . not . . understand
Linux. This allows you to put your "old" winders drive as a virtual D drive
(Linux uses different nomenclature) and you have access to . . all . . of
your current data, with zero conversion needed.

If you are running Firefox browser you will see zero difference as the
user. Thunderbird is but one of the E-mail processors available, so you
may not even need to learn something new there. For winderz unique
applications there is a program called WINE (WINdows Emulator) that
will run the vast majority of win software (admittedly S L O W for gaming).

The one item that keeps so many of the virus creators away from Linux
is that you have to have the password to write any system files, and
many of the data files, from off system.

Now if you are planning to overthrow the government, or execute some
that many of us would not object to, you probably need something far
beyond Linux. For us every-day users, it does fine.

And . . . it's . . . FREE!
(Linux Mint "feels" most like winderz. )

 

[NikA]

VPN is a basically a network that you can access across the public internet only by having private credentials. It is a common security item used by businesses, public and private, to protect information when working remotely. For instance, I can access my office computer from almost anywhere with an internet connection, but I have to do so using VPN to ensure that the information I am sending and receiving is not accessible on the public network.

The "untraceable IP" stuff uses something similar to TOR (the onion router), a system originally developed by the DOD. It uses a global network of computers to pass your internet access through, going through some predesignated number (around 5-6 for basic access, I think). The route through the network changes with each access (and possibly during access), making tracing very difficult if not impossible. Think spy movie with money moving through multiple international accounts. It's a fine way to look at things you might not want on the record, but any info you send on the network has multiple public access points, so it's not more secure for sending data.

I wouldn't pay for either of these. VPN should be provided by your organization if you need it. TOR network access is free through TOR browsers. Even free antivirus these days is very good unless you are prone to downloading/clicking on things you shouldn't be. As Pat said, Linux is a very good way to avoid problems as well, it just takes a bit of getting used to, and if the market becomes big enough, no doubt we'll see viruses and such written to exploit vulnerabilities in its code more often.

 

[Pat-inCO]

and if the market becomes big enough, no doubt we'll see viruses
and such written to exploit vulnerabilities in its code more often.

That's what I was told eight years ago.

 

[NikA]

I can't tell whether you're agreeing or disagreeing, but I will say there are already known pieces of malware written to exploit the Android OSes, which are essentially Linux lite. Given determined individuals and a big enough target, history has proven someone will find a way to make problems. Linux for business and home computing is just nowhere near that level, and the systems used publicly are either low profile or important enough to avoid attacks.